The Rule of Saint Benedict | 8-18

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8. Of the Divine Office during the Night

Making due allowance for circumstances, the brethren will rise during the winter season, that is, from the calends of November till Easter, at the eighth hour of the night;

so that, having rested till a little after midnight, they may rise refreshed.

The time, however, which remains over after the night office (Matins) will be employed in study by those of the brethren who still have some parts of the psalms and the lessons to learn.

But from Easter to the aforesaid calends, let the hour for celebrating the night office (Matins) be so arranged, that after a very short interval, during which the brethren may go out for the necessities of nature, the morning office (Lauds), which is to be said at the break of day, may follow presently.


9. How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at the Night Office

During the winter season, having in the first place said the verse:

Deus, in adjutorium meum intende; Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina, there is next to be said three times, Domine, labia mea aperies, et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam (Ps 50[51]:17).

To this the third psalm and the Gloria are to be added.

After this the 94th psalm with its antiphon is to be said or chanted. Hereupon let a hymn follow, and after that six psalms with antiphons.

When these and the verse have been said, let the Abbot give the blessing.

All being seated on the benches, let three lessons be read alternately by the brethren from the book on the reading stand, between which let three responsories be said.

Let two of the responsories be said without the Gloria, but after the third lesson, let him who is chanting say the Gloria. When the cantor begins to sing it, let all rise at once from their seats in honour and reverence of the Blessed Trinity.

Let the inspired books of both the Old and the New Testaments be read at the night offices, as also the expositions of them which have been made by the most eminent orthodox and Catholic Fathers.

After these three lessons with their responsories, let six other psalms follow, to be sung with Alleluia.

After these let the lessons from the Apostle follow, to be said by heart, then the verse, the invocation of the litany, that is, Kyrie eleison.

And thus let the night office come to an end.


10. How the Office Is to Be Said during the Summer Season

From Easter till the calends of November let the whole psalmody, as explained above, be said,

except that on account of the shortness of the nights, no lessons are read from the book; but instead of these three lessons, let one from the Old Testament be said from memory.

Let a short responsory follow this, and let all the rest be performed as was said; namely, that never fewer than twelve psalms be said at the night office, exclusive of the third and the 94th psalm.


11. How the Night Office Is to Be Said on Sundays

For the night office on Sunday the monks should rise earlier. At this office let the following regulations be observed, namely:

after six psalms and the verse have been sung, as we arranged above, and all have been properly seated on the benches in their order, let four lessons with their responsories be read from the book, as we said above.

In the fourth responsory only, let the Gloria be said by the chanter, and as soon as he begins it let all presently rise with reverence.

After these lessons let six other psalms with antiphons and the verse follow in order as before.

After these let there be said three canticles from the Prophets, selected by the Abbot, and chanted with Alleluia.

When the verse also has been said and the Abbot has given the blessing, let four other lessons from the New Testament be read in the order above mentioned.

But after the fourth responsory let the Abbot intone the hymn Te Deum laudamus. When this has been said, let the Abbot read the lesson from the Gospel, all standing with reverence and awe.

When the Gospel has been read let all answer Amen, and immediately the Abbot will follow up with the hymn Te decet laus, and when he has given the blessing Lauds will begin.

Let this order of the night office be observed on Sunday the same way in all seasons, in summer as well as in winter,

unless perchance (which God forbid) the brethren should rise too late and part of the lessons or the responsories would have to be shortened.

Let every precaution be taken that this does not occur. If it should happen, let him through whose neglect it came about make due satisfaction for it to God in the oratory.


12. How Lauds Are to Be Said

At Lauds on Sunday, let the 66th psalm be said first simply, without an antiphon.

After that let the 50th psalm be said with Alleluia; after this let the 117th and the 62d be said; then the blessing and the praises, one lesson from the Apocalypse, said by heart, a responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse and the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, and it is finished.


13. How Lauds Are to Be Said on Week Days

On week days let Lauds be celebrated in the following manner, to wit:

Let the 66th psalm be said without an antiphon, drawing it out a little as on Sunday, that all may arriver for the 50th, which is to be said with an antiphon.

After this let two other psalms be said according to custom; namely,

the 5th and the 35th on the second day, the 42d and the 56th on the third day,
the 63rd and the 64th on the fourth day, the 87th and the 89th on the fifth day,
the 75th and the 91st on the sixth day,

and on Saturday the 142d and the canticle of Deuteronomy, which should be divided into two Glorias.

On the other days, however, let the canticle from the Prophets, each for its proper day, be said as the Roman Church sings it.

After these let the psalms of praise follow; then one lesson from the Apostle, to be said from memory, the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, and it is finished.

Owing to the scandals which are wont to spring up, the morning and the evening office should, plainly, never end unless the Lord's Prayer is said in the hearing of all by the Superior in its place at the end;

so that in virtue of the promise which the brethren make when they say, "Forgive us as we forgive" (Mt 6:12), they may cleanse themselves of failings of this kind.

At the other hours which are to be said, however, let only the last part of this prayer be said aloud, so that all may answer, "But deliver us from evil" (Mt 6:13).


14. How the Night Office Is to Be Said on the Feasts of the Saints

On the feasts of the saints and on all solemn festivals let the night office be performed as we said it should be done on Sunday; except that the psalms, the antiphons, and the lessons proper for that day be said; but let the number above mentioned be maintained.


15. At What Times the Alleluia Is to Be Said

From holy Easter until Pentecost let the Alleluia be said without intermission, both with the psalms and with the responsories; but from Pentecost until the beginning of Lent let it be said every night at the nocturnes with the six latter psalms only.

However, on all Sundays outside of Lent, let the canticles, Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, and None be said with Alleluia.

Let Vespers, however, be said with the antiphon; but let the responsories never be said with Alleluia, except from Easter to Pentecost.

16. How the Work of God Is to Be Performed during the Day

As the Prophet says: "Seven times a day I have given praise to Thee" (Ps 118[119]:164),

this sacred sevenfold number will be fulfilled by us in this wise if we perform the duties of our service at the time of Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Complin;

because it was of these day hours that he has said: "Seven times a day I have given praise to Thee" (Ps 118[119]:164).

For the same Prophet says of the night watches: "At midnight I arose to confess to Thee" (Ps 118[119]:62).

At these times, therefore, let us offer praise to our Creator "for the judgments of His justice;" namely, at Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Complin; and let us rise at night to praise Him (cf Ps 118[119]:164, 62).


17. How Many Psalms Are to Be Sung at These Hours

We have now arranged the order of the psalmody for the night and the morning office; let us next arrange for the succeeding Hours.

At the first Hour let three psalms be said separately, and not under one Gloria.

Let the hymn for the same Hour be said after the verse Deus, in adjutorium (Ps 69[70]:2), before the psalms are begun. Then, after the completion of three psalms, let one lesson be said, a verse, the Kyrie eleison, and the collects.

At the third, the sixth, and the ninth Hours, the prayer will be said in the same order; namely, the verse, the hymn proper to each Hour, the three psalms, the lesson, the verse, the Kyrie eleison, and the collects.

If the brotherhood is large, let these Hours be sung with antiphons; but if small, let them be said without a break.

Let the office of Vespers be ended with four psalms and antiphons; after these psalms a lesson is to be recited, next a responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, a verse, the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, the Lord's Prayer, and the collects.

Let Complin end with the saying of three psalms, which are to be said straight on without an antiphon, and after these the hymn for the same Hour, one lesson, the verse, Kyrie eleison, the blessing, and the collects.


18. In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said

In the beginning let there be said the verse, Deus, in adjutorium meum intende; Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (Ps 69[70]:2), and the Gloria, followed by the hymn for each Hour.

At Prime on Sunday, then, there are to be said four sections of the 118th psalm. At the other Hours, however, namely Tierce, Sext, and None, let three sections of the same psalm be said.

But at Prime on Monday let three psalms be said, namely, the first, the second, and the sixth; and thus each day at Prime until Sunday, let three psalms be said each time in consecutive order up to the 19th psalm,

yet so that the ninth psalm and the 17th be each divided into two Glorias; and thus it will come about that at the night office on Sundays we always begin with the 20th psalm.

At Tierce, Sext, and None, on Monday, however, let the nine sections which remain over the 118th psalm be said, three sections at each of these Hours.

The 118th psalm having thus been parcelled out for two days, namely, Sunday and Monday, let there be sung on Tuesday for Tierce, Sext, and None, three psalms each, from the 119th to the 127th, that is, nine psalms.

These psalms will always be repeated at the same Hours in just the same way until Sunday, observing also for all these days a regular succession of the hymns, the lessons, and the verses, so, namely, that on Sunday the beginning is always made with the 118th psalm.

Let Vespers be sung daily with the singing of four psalms:

Let these psalms begin with the 109th to the 147th, excepting those which are set aside for the other Hours; namely, from the 117th to the 127th, and the 133d, and the 142d.

All the rest are to be said at Vespers; and as the psalms fall three short, those of the aforesaid psalms which are found to be longer, are to be divided; namely, the 138th, the 143d, and the 144th.

But because the 116th is short, let it be joined to the 115th.

The order of the psalms for Vespers having thus been arranged let the rest, namely, the lessons, the responsories, the hymns, the verses, and the canticles, be said as we have directed above.

At Complin, however, let the same psalms be repeated every day; namely, the 4th, the 90th, and the 133d.

Having arranged the order of the office, let all the rest of the psalms which remain over, be divided equally into seven night offices, by so dividing such of them as are of greater length that twelve fall to each night.

We especially impress this, that, if this distribution of the psalms should perchance displease anyone, he arrange them if he thinks another better, by all means seeing to it that the whole Psalter of one hundred and fifty psalms be said every week, and that it always start again from the beginning at Matins on Sunday;

because those monks show too lax a service in their devotion who in the course of a week chant less than the whole Psalter with its customary canticles;

since we read, that our holy forefathers promptly fulfilled in one day what we lukewarm monks should, please God, perform at least in a week.